The Science of Psychology

psychology
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Terms in this set (32)
psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental process
behavior
the outward or overt actions and reactions
mental processes
refers to all internal processes of our minds such as thinking, feeling, or remembering
description
psychology's goal; involves observing a behavior and noting everything about it--what is happening, where it happens, to whom it happens, and under what circumstances it seems to happen
explanation
psychology's goal; a very important step in the process of forming theories of behavior
prediction
psychology's goal; determining what will happen in the future--to change or modify behavior
control
psychology's goal; to focus or modify behavior
Wilhelm Wundt
a physiologist who attempted to apply scientific principles to study the human mind; he believed that the mind was made up of thoughts/experiences/emotions/other basic elements
objective introspection
the term used by Wundt that refers to the process of examining and measuring one's own thoughts and mental activities
Edward Titchener
one of Wundt's students who expanded the idea of structuralism(his focus of study)
structuralismexpanded Wundt's original ideas; believed that every experience could be broken down into individual emotions and sensationsWilliam Jamesfounded the idea of functionalismfunctionalisman early perspective in psychology associated with William James that focuses on how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and playMax Wertheimera person who believed that psychological events such as sensing and perceiving could NOT be broken down into any smaller parts and still be properly understoodGestalt psychologyfounded by Max Wertheimer; an early perspective in psychology focusing on perception and sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and WHOLE figuresSigmund Freuda neurologist and a medical doctor who specializes in disorders of the nervous system; he also believed that personality was formed in the first 6 years of life; argued about unconscious behaviorpsychoanalysisa theory and therapy based on the work of Sigmund Freudpsychotherapya process in which a trained psychological professional group helps a person gain insight into and change behaviornaturalistic observationwatching animals and humans behavior in their normal environmentIvan Pavlova Russian physiologist who showed that a reflex could be caused to occur in response to a formerly unrelated stimulusbehaviorismthe science of behavior focuses on observable behavior ONLYJohn Watsonargued that behavior is learnedpsychodynamica modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person's behacior other than sexual motivationsbehaviorala modern version of psyc that was primarily led by John B. Watson, then B.F. Skinner which led to Skineer focusing on classical conditioning and also developed a theory called operant conditioningoperant conditioninga theory that explains how voluntary behavior is learnedhumanistica modern version of psyc that is often called the "hird force"; humanists held the view that people have free will and strive for self-actalizationcognitivethis perspective became the major force in the field in 1960s that fpcuses on memory, intellgence, perception, problem-solving, and learningcognitive perspectivemodern perspective that focuses on memory, intelligence , perception, problem-solving, and learningcognitive neurosciencethe study of the physical workings of the brain and nervous system when engaged in memory, thinking, and other cognitive processessocioculturalmodern version of psyc that focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture; this is significant because it reminds people that the way they and others behave us influenced not only by whether they're alone, with friends, in a crowd, or part of a group but also by the social norms, fads, class differences, and ethnic identitysocial psychologythe study of groups, social roles, and rules of social actions and relationshipscultural psychologythe study of cultural norms, values, and expectations